Adolf Ferdinand Wenceslaus Brix (20 February 1798 – 14 February 1870) was a German

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

.Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, volume 3 (1876), p. 335: Brix: Adolf Ferdinand Wenceslaus B.
, corresponding Wikisource text The unit for

specific gravity Relative density, or specific gravity, is the ratio of the density (mass of a unit volume) of a substance to the density of a given reference material. Specific gravity for liquids is nearly always measured with respect to water at its dens ...

of liquids, degree

Brix Degrees Brix (symbol °Bx) is a measure of the dissolved solids in a liquid, and is commonly used to measure dissolved sugar content of an aqueous solution. One degree Brix is 1 gram of sucrose in 100 grams of solution and represents the strength ...

(°Bx), is named after him. Brix made a career as a civil servant in professions related to civil engineering, measurements and manufacture (1827 ''Bauconducteur'', 1834 ''Fabriken-Commisionsrath'', 1853 ''geheimer Regierungsrath'') and retired in 1866 (when he was promoted to ''geheimer Oberregierungsrath''). He was director of the Royal Prussian Commission for Measurements, member of a technical committee in the Ministry of Trade, and the technical building committee. He was also a teacher of applied mathematics at ''Gewerbeinstitut zu Berlin'' (1828–1850), as well as in higher analysis and applied mathematics at the

Bauakademie The Bauakademie (''Building Academy'') in Berlin, Germany, was a higher education school for the art of building to train master builders. It originated from the construction department of the Academy of Fine Arts and Mechanical Sciences (from ...

, both of which are forerunners of the

Technical University of Berlin The Technical University of Berlin (official name both in English and german: link=no, Technische Universität Berlin, also known as TU Berlin and Berlin Institute of Technology) is a public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was ...

. He participated in many public works in Berlin and

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of ...

Selected publications

* ''Lehrbuch der Statik und Mechanik'' ("Textbook of statics and mechanics", 1831, 2nd edition 1849, supplement 1843) * ''Über Festigkeit und Elasticität der Eisendrähte'' ("On the strength and elasticity of iron wires"), 1847 * ''Über den Widerstand der Fuhrwerke'' ("On the drag of wagons"), 1850 * ''Über Alkoholometrie'' ("On the measurement of alcohol"), 1850, 1851, 1856

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brix, Adolf Ferdinand Wenceslaus 19th-century German mathematicians 19th-century German engineers Technical University of Berlin faculty 1798 births 1870 deaths Engineers from Wesel